Histone Variation and Identification of Epigenetic Markers in Breast Cancer

摘要

In this project I wanted to investigate how cellular patterns of histone modifications differ in breast cancer depending on the stage of the disease, and whether this cellular heterogeneity could be related to the clinical outcome of the cancer patient. I used antibodies specific to histone modifications and variants to probe the epigenome of breast cancer progression. I compared the levels of the histone modifications and variants in several breast cancer cell lines (ErbB2 Amplified, ER/PR positive and Triple negative) comparing it to the non-tumorigenic cells. Initial results show that the levels of some of the histone modifications and variants correlate with the hormone receptor status of these cells. Further work in a larger panel of the cell lines or patients using immunohistochemistry will be crucial in determining the significance of these findings.